If you have access to PBS channel at home, you're probably aware of Daniel Tiger, a relatively new TV series which debuted last year. The main character of this show is a four-year-old tiger named Daniel who lives with his parents on Jungle Beach.

Daniel is also the star of two apps I'm reviewing today: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Play at Home with Daniel and Daniel Tiger's Day & Night. Both apps focus on Daniel's daily activities and are suitable for juniors ages two to four.

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood - Play at Home asks kids to help Daniel with his daily activities

Play at Home

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Play at Home with Daniel was released last year, around the same time when the TV series premiered. The app focuses on Daniel's daily activities, such as role-playing as a doctor, washing his hands, brushing his teeth, flushing toilets, and getting ready for bed. It was updated a couple of months ago with the addition of a new musical game and a sticker book.

When you start the app, you get a menu of five round icons, which leads to five playful activities. For example, you can role-play as a doctor and learn about medical instruments such as stethoscope, tongue depressor, shot, and light pen.

In another activity, you can visit Daniel's bedroom and help him get ready for bed. You need to do several things: get his blanket from the drawer and put it over him, tap the window to let the sun set, put Tigey the stuffed tiger on Daniel's side, and turn off the lights.

Follow Daniel as he prepares for his morning in Daniel Tiger's Day & Night

Day & Night

Daniel Tiger's Day & Night is the second app which was released a couple of weeks ago. It contains two parts: Good Morning and Good Night. As you might have guessed each part highlights Daniel's routines in the morning and at night. There are four activities and a sing-along song in each part, which are shown as five round icons on the left sidebar.

Daniel's first activity in the morning is getting dressed. His mom helps him put on his red sweater, and you get to help him zip it up. He then sets up the table for breakfast. His mom makes a delicious-looking pancake that Daniel can decorate with various slices of fruits.

After Daniel finishes with his breakfast, he brushes his teeth and wears his shoes. You can help him by dragging the toothbrush as you would brush your own teeth, and by holding down your finger on the shoe that Daniel is tying up.

The first thing Daniel does before he goes to bed at night is to take a bath. His dad helps him with some soap bubbles, but you're the one who needs to help him bathe. Then, he brushes his teeth one more time, before wearing his pajamas. Finally, his mom helps him fall sleep by telling him a bedtime story.

Play music and learn about various emotions

Things I Like

What makes the first app, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Play at Home with Daniel, unique is its musical activity, which was designed to highlight three emotions that are common for juniors: happy, sad, and angry. The activity helps juniors to understand these emotions and give them names for future reference.

It also lets them interact with different musical instruments: snare drum, floor tom, cymbal, bongo drum, maracas, and gong. You can play with the three tabs with musical symbols on the top to switch and mix melodies from different musical instruments including standing bass, piano, organ, drum set, and trumpet.

What makes the second app, Daniel Tiger's Day & Night, unique is its Make-Believe activities. In some activities, you might see a swirling white cloud icon on the bottom right corner of the screen. When you tap on that icon, you will be redirected to a new screen where Daniel's imagination takes place. For example, after zipping up his red sweater, you will see Daniel posing as a superhero. You get to choose the costume colors and pump his upper body muscle to make him look like Super Daniel.

Another example is when you help Daniel choose a pair of pajamas. This time, you get to play a coloring game where you can create your own colorful patterns for his pajamas.

Dive into Daniel's imaginative world

Conclusion

Daniel Tiger is a lovely character that relates well to juniors ages two to four. He helps juniors understand their emotions and learn about their daily routines. Even if you haven't seen the TV series, I'd still recommend you get both apps for your younger juniors. There's a lot you can discuss with your juniors about Daniel's emotions and routines.